B&W photos? How do I pick?

Hi all. I'm going through some of my photos and trying to pick a few to convert into monochrome. How do I look at a color photo and decide what might be a good candidate for conversion? Are there things you guys look for? I'm having a hard time. I find myself picking ones, converting them, then deciding I don't like the b&w version.

Re: B&W photos? How do I pick?

Hi John,

B&W isn't for everyone, I rarely do it.

I'd say look for image with high contrast scenes, bold shapes, etc. in.
Perhaps with bold colours in too - these may help when converting because often when you convert, simply turning off the colour, or reducing saturation to zero isn't how to do it - you play with the colour channel gains as well.

Shots that have lots of mid-tones and ones that are very 'busy' (lots of fine detail) are probably worth avoiding.

Many say they shoot 'thinking' monochrome and it isn't something they can afterwards. However, if you haven't done that, I'm sure a look through your, or my, library would find some that work.

Have a look through my Poeple album, there are some there, including a couple that have colour and mono versions. In fact I had a quick look through most other albums and it doesn't turn up any more!